White Hill Reserve - Stop Press

Every season sees White Hill expand as we remove scrub and fine tune the reserve. Our volunteers give up their spare time to slog it out with Nature in the relentless battle to prevent the site reverting to woodland and ideas were considered as to how we could lessen this burden. With our meagre manpower resources stretched to breaking point, some form of mechanisation was required if we were retain our hard-earned chalk downland.

Those of you who attended the AGM will remember my overview of the work involved to keep the site clear. Approximately 33,075 sweeps with a brushcutter, 4 miles shuffling along at snail's pace, 21,000 draws on a rake and 204 bags of brash to be disposed of and all of this on a 40° slope! A daunting task in anyone's eyes but, add to it poor weather, low attendance for whatever reason and just plain difficult years and you may well imagine the problem.

White Hill didn't just happen, it was created. Fifty years ago, the whole site was very different to the one you see today with very little in the way of trees and no scrub at all. All this changed when grazing ceased and scrub invaded the whole site. When BC began to turn back the tide, only very small open areas remained and consequently supported few butterflies. Shear hard work saw the creation of a narrow ride through the scrub and work began on the main slope.

The work came just in time to save the Chalkhill Blues and progressed well for a few years but, as with many projects like this, the workforce fluctuated as people came and went and progress reverted to status quo. New areas were attacked with vigour one year only to fall into neglect the following year, there were simply not enough hands to the pump. The timely injection of extra hands was very welcome indeed.

Work progressed steadily once more and we soon had new areas under control but still suffered from the usual fluctuations in the workforce. One week we had a dozen helpers followed by just four at the next meeting but, by and large, a hardcore of volunteers began to establish themselves. It may seem difficult to believe but the difference just one extra helper could make was amazing. The lift in morale was self-evident as a new face arrived and a buzz went around the work-party quicker than a sighting of the first Brimstone of the year! It really made that much difference.

During year 2000, we enjoyed the highest attendance for many years and achieved huge amounts of restoration on the main slope and widened the main ride threefold. The butterflies responded accordingly and we enjoyed clouds of butterflies during the summer with blues and browns doing better than in any other year since the site was acquired. However, we are always cautious in circumstances such as these and we were wise to be so as volunteer numbers fell towards the end of 2002 and we almost ran out of time to complete the winter work. 2003 was to be different.

I had discussed the possibility of using a tractor to reduce the workload on several occasions with the Committee but there was some concern expressed about access to the site and the feasibility of operating such a machine on the severe slopes. With two members of the workforce severely under par due to illness and injury, there was never a better time to push the boat out and I began searching the yard at work for a suitable machine.

After a few negotiations with our Sales Department, I soon had an 85HP tractor and 6' topper organised for "demonstration" and contacted Mike Brown to make arrangements for a workday. Very little needed to be done to gain access from Fackenden Lane and Mike knocked down a low bank of chalk with a mattock whilst I dropped a few trees with the chain saw. We were all set but Mike was really very worried about me driving the tractor on such difficult terrain and took a lot of consoling.

The day for the trial arrived and I set off from Parkwood, Maidstone at 7:00am on a clear and dry morning armed with tractor, topper and spare blades and shear-bolts. The journey was tedious at 21mph but I arrived fresh and ready for anything. After a little preparation, I drove out onto the site and began the first run on the lower meadow.

After barely twenty yards, the mower lurched and I knew that a shear-bolt had failed. These bolts form a coupling in the drive to the mower and are designed to fail in event of the mower encountering an immovable object and thus protect the gearbox and blades and yes, I had encountered an object, a huge stump well hidden in the grass. With the bright sunshine on the cab glass, it was surprisingly difficult to see both stumps and ant-hills and mike began to walk ahead of the tractor to point out the various objects. Progress was rather faster than even I had anticipated and the whole meadow was soon laid ready for raking. Next on the list was the main ride.

This has always been a difficult area to cut due to the numerous stumps and ant-hills and I was more than a little worried about the terrain as I engaged the cutter and a low gear. To say it went well would be an understatement and the whole area was laid in four wents, that equates to about five hour's work with a brushcutter and I had it sorted in a little over half an hour, including a lot of short work to navigate around the obstructions. Mike, by now, had given up chasing tree stumps and was avidly recording the whole event on video! The real challenge was to come on the steep slopes.

Anyone who reads the Farmer's Weekly will know that there are numerous accidents each year where tractor are worked on steep slopes beyond their designed working envelope and 35 years in farming had left me acutely aware of the dangers. Most of the task would need to be tackled running up and down the bank as opposed to across the bank. This meant that much of my time would be spent twisted round in the seat looking over my shoulder and thoughts went back to hedge-cutting for a morning a few years ago when I ended up with a stiff neck for days. The soil conditions were pretty good and the four-wheel-drive behaved admirably with little damage to the turf, a worry expressed early on in the planning of the operation. A couple of hours had most of the site reduced to an even sward about three inches deep and we stopped for a break.

Looking along the main ride was a sight for tired eyes, the whole area was mown and looked better than I can ever remember it looking. The bottom meadow was completed, as was the entire centre main section of the slope. Only the area above the bonfire site and the "triangle" remained to be cut and this shouldn't take too long. Suitably refreshed, we returned to the fray.

The main slope was a little more difficult than it first looked as there were dozens of ant-hills and a fair number of stumps to circumnavigate but we soon had it laid. Only my aching neck prevented me from completing the entire section but that would have involved considerable short work and was best left to brushcutters. The triangle was laid in less than fifteen minutes including some careful driving to gain access on the steep slope and we sat down for another drink and discussed the results of the experiment. Mike's fears had been laid to rest as he realised it wasn't the first time I had driven a tractor! Sure, we had to be constantly on guard for the obvious dangers but these didn't really manifest themselves as we never entered the danger envelope, nor would I. We left the site a little after lunch time and headed home.

The next work party could not have been worse. Rain fell constantly and it was a miracle that anyone turned out at all, let alone be prepared to work. A huge thank you goes out to all concerned and, to be fair, it was a lousy day and who could be blamed for staying indoors? A few very wet hours were spent trimming the awkward corners and raking the plentiful brash and we adjourned early for a change of clothes. In just a few hours, the tractor had completed the work that would not normally have taken until well into March to complete with brushcutters. All that remains to do is rake up the brash, that's 204 bags, 21,000 draws on the rake............So, come on, help us out, it's not hard graft all the time and we enjoy a good social gathering as well. Without our work, White Hill would be lost forever and you could not enjoy the sight of Chalkhill Blues taking nectar from Scabious and Brimstones quartering the scrub edge. This is your chance to make a difference.

Peter Kirby - November 2003

27th October

Our first work party was nearly cancelled due to the appalling weather prospects, with gale force winds predicted and heavy rain. Little wonder then that the attendance was somewhat reduced with just a few hardy (mad?) folk showing.

Our intention was to cut the lower meadow and rake as much as possible in the time available. For the first time in years, we had four brush-cutters operating together and soon had a vast area cut before we set about the tangled mass at the bottom of the meadow. This was very hard going as brambles had grown through the dense, waist high, grass creating an almost impenetrable mass. Every swing of the brush-cutter was met with impossible resistance and a few curses. If we thought that we had it bad, the rakers were really up against it.

With such a low turnout, they were hard pressed to keep up with the cutters and were soon overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. Perhaps we were too ambitious? I had hoped to cut the entire meadow with a view to clearing the grass on two sessions but I hadn't reckoned with the determination of the crew. It was obvious that they would not stop until the task was done so it was with some relief that we finished the cutting and were able to offer some assistance carting away the huge piles of debris.

The wind was very strong indeed but we enjoyed some welcome shelter, screened by the tall trees and thick hedge surrounding the meadow, and the sun was warm enough to stir a male Brimstone. After a brief spell of basking, it made off into the thicket to find a place to resume its hibernation. It was a fitting reward for such hard work and we stood back to admire our handiwork. The entire meadow was cut and cleared in just one meeting, amazing.

24th November

Bad weather forecast for the morning had me somewhat worried but I needn't have. Today's task was to cut and clear the centre ride and it would need a good turnout if we were to succeed. The going is fairly good here but the ride is surprisingly wide since our recent clearing sessions. It also enjoys a dense flora, good for butterflies but not good for clearing, and I set about opening out the headlands. After three passes, each one a hundred metres long, I began to realise that this was to be another marathon.

As I turned to start my fourth run, I saw a sight to warm the cockles, at least six people grabbing rakes and bags! This number was to rise to eleven before the morning was out and they all stuck to the task, completing the job in record time. The ride looks good and should be a blaze of colour next year.

Special thanks must go to our new guest John, who pitched in with the rakers and worked hard despite not even being a member! As a token of our thanks, I located a Chalkhill Blue egg for him as he hadn't seen one before and arranged a winter field trip to search for Hairstreak eggs.

For those of you that haven't attended a work party, give it a try. It sounds like hard work but everyone does what they feel comfortable with and there is no pressure whatsoever to do more. It's a great social event and there is always something of interest going on. If you can only carry one twig to the bonfire, it's one less for the hard pressed rakers to worry about.

Peter Kirby - 2002